


The Ghost Alchemist

by TheJinxer101



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, tangled - Fandom, tangled the series
Genre: Gen, Ghost!Varian Au, More tags will be added later!, Tangled the series - Freeform, Varian (Disney) - Freeform, Varian is already dead when the story starts, angst???, impalement mention, there are tears
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-05-20 12:26:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14894633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJinxer101/pseuds/TheJinxer101
Summary: Set two months after the season 1 finale.this shows Varian's life as a ghost after he is accidentally killed, As it goes back and forth between his present and past.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> some events will not be told in order.
> 
> enjoy~

"Are you really just going to leave and forget about me?" Varian pulled a sour expression at the person who was standing a few feet away, the same person who seemed to have not a care in the world. Rolling his eyes, he let out a huff of frustration before turning on his heel and walking down the hall.

"Why should I care?" Varian thought out loud before coming to a stop "it's not like they do.." glaring back with uncertainty at the people he once considered friends all talking as if they hadn't heard him, like nothing had happened two months back. Turning to face forward varian crossed his arms in thought, 'has it been two months?' Varian was confused at this thought but quickly shrugged it off. 

Continuing down the hall, varian passed a few staff who worked in the castle, who in return payed him no attention as they carried out their daily chores. Making his way through the castle, Varian soon found himself in the library, he would always end up here as it was one of the many rooms that is always almost empty; that and because he could read as much books as he wanted to pass time.

It was always like this, it's become a routine of sorts. The castle library was the one place he could be without accidentally making a staff member faint at the sight of a floating object, hardly anyone came in here and if they did it was mostly Queen Arianna getting a new book or taking one back. To say this new life wasn't lonely let alone boring would be the biggest lie Varian would say to himself, so his daily routine would be to either read or follow the people in the castle and talk to them, act as if they are listening when they aren't. 

His life now was something Varian could not understand at first, he didn't know why he was in such a state and he didn't know why he was still around. He didn't know until a few days after he had awoken, when he overheard a conversation between the princess and his once idol, Flynn rider late at night.

~~flashback~~

It wasn't strange to be making rounds around the castle halls for varian, it gave him some sense on normality, he does wish he could leave the castle but as he had discovered he was confined to this place and he had no idea why.

Letting out a soft sigh, he rans fingers through his hair, it's only been four days since he woke up in this state. Varian frowned as he recalled the day he woke up like this, not being able to be seen let alone heard, the feeling of fear and confusion sinking into him as he realised he was alone, no one could help him and he didn't know what to do.

Shaking his head from the memory, varian turned the corner into another hall, but came to an abrupt stop as he saw Rapunzel and Eugene pass by. Curious, varian floated a bit more down into the hall and got close enough to hear Eugene hush comforting words to Rapunzel as she mumbled out words too quiet for varian to hear. 

Varian floated after them and came into pace with their steps and noticed Rapunzel had red puffy eyes with tears staining her cheeks. Dumbfounded at what could make the princess cry like this, he looked toward Eugene who had a sullen expression as he hushed his lover with soothing words of "it's okay, it's not your fault Rapunzel". 

Now varian was intrigued at what had happened, this was only the second time he has seen these two this week, the first time they were quiet but now they looked tired. "It's all my fault Eugene, he would still be alive if I didn't touch those rocks, I shouldn't have snuck out with Cassandra that night!" This made varian perk up 'still be alive, rocks?' He frowned as a puzzled expression crossed his face. "Blondie, no one could have seen this coming. It was an accident" Eugene's eyes glinted as tears came into his eyes, pulling Rapunzel closer to his side.

Rapunzel pulled away and stood in front of Eugene an expression of heartbreak on her face "Eugene, i can't do this. I should have been there for varian, he needed me and then he turned into someone I didn't even know..he would still be alive if I just helped him more, maybe if I kept trying he-" Rapunzel got cut off by a sob and covered her eyes and more tears began to spill. Eugene let out a saddened sigh before walking up to her and wrapping his arms securely around the shaking and sobbing form of his girlfriend, who quickly returned the hug and cried into his chest. 

After settling down a bit with a few hiccups Rapunzel stepped away and wiped at her eyes before looking up at her boyfriend "I'm sorry Eugene" glancing away toward the window "I just, I can't get it out of my head..th-there was so much blood". Eugene looked to where she staring with a grim expression as he recalled the memory but quickly shook it off. Speaking with a worried and saddened tone Eugene held his hand out to Rapunzel "Do you want to go outside for some air?". Rapunzel nodded slowly and took his hand in hers. The two of them walked down the darkened halls, leaving behind a teary varian who was no longer floating but instead standing still on the floor watching them leave, the moonlight shining down onto him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise if there are mistakes in punctuation and spelling. But other than that there's nothing worth mentioning other than chapter 3 might take a bit longer than this. 
> 
> Enjoy~ ^^

Varian felt broken, when the words of Rapunzel about his death being her fault reached his ears he shut down, "her fault?...what..did she mean her fault? It can't be the princess's fault.." bringing his hand to his cheek and looking down at it; he noticed there was a familiar liquid present on his gloved hands, looking up confused at where the princess was once standing and croaked out words of doubt "...can it?".

Varian searched his mind for answers but couldn't bring himself to think no further as if he has been locked out from his mind. A frustrated growl emerged from Varian's throat, what had happened to him before this? What caused Rapunzel to blame herself? These were questions he needed to know, and he was determined to find them; one way or another.

~~present time~~ 

Closing the book with a slam, varian let out a huff of air and leant back in the old wooden chair he was in; staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. Squinting slightly as a Brief sadness flashed in his eyes, muttering quietly "I wonder what dad is up to right now". It had been three weeks ago when he had heard the news about his father being free, apparently they had found a piece of the black rock before cutting him out of the amber. The group who had discovered it could cut the amber were unsure at first but they had gotten lucky enough to save someone, unlike he had. 

Getting up from his seat with a stretch; varian decided to see if anything new has happened within the hour he had been absent, usually he would follow people around and cause them small amounts of distress out of pure boredom. Smiling slightly varian floating his way over to the library entrance, "I bet the princess is still working on that painting project" he thought out loud.

Phasing through the library doors; while fixing his collarbone his preferred style, varian made his way toward the direction of the last place he had seen the princess, which just so happened to be her bedroom. When he arrived he glanced over the large space and took note Eugene had left but Cassandra and the Princess were still in fact there, and made his way over to the window and sat down on the soft seat it connected to.

Reaching over to the desk, rapunzels hand met with nothing and looked to the empty surface in confusion before speaking "Cass, can you pass me the big brush? It should be on my dresser". Cassandra who was leaning against the wall reading, looked up from her page toward raps a confused expression on her face "sorry what was that raps?".

Varian smirked, while Cassandra was distracted momentarily he had quickly made his way over to the dresser and hid the requested brush away from its original resting place. Watching from his position beside the dresser, he followed Cassandra with his gaze as she made his way over to where he was. Confusion struck Cassandra on the face as she glanced over the surface before speaking up "hey raps..I don't see it, are you sure you left it here?".Rapunzel looked over toward Cassandra with puzzlement before making her way over to the dresser. "what are you talking about, it's right-" stopping mid sentence in alarm, Rapunzel looked at her brush holder and began to panic "oh no no no not again, I just got that brush!" 

Varian floated up and watched with an amused glint in his eyes, letting out a sarcastic comment "oh no, that's so horrible princess! Who would ever do such a terrible thing?". Amusement quickly died out as he blankly stared down at the young princess searching for her new brush, thinking about how in a week's time she will be gone. Varian's eyes trailed over toward the painting she was currently working on and took in the details, it wasn't anything flashy. Floating down towards it to get a better look, varian noticed she had added in the black rocks; they were pointing towards a building of sorts.

Raising an eyebrow at the sight of the building in the painting and spoke up "this another one of your vision dreams?" he looked over towards the princess as if she would answer his question. Giving the blonde a blank look, he looked back at the painting one more time before shrugging. It wasn't anything important to him and besides the princess was leaving next week to follow the path the rocks had apparently made, he would find out soon after her return.

Leaving the two in their search, Varian made his way out into the hall and slowly came back into contact with the floor. The hall in the castle never ceased to amaze Varian; it was so easy to get lost and figure out which room was where, especially when he help Cassandra out with her chores that one time. Glancing out the window with an sudden interest and took in he blue sky before looking down towards the castle gardens, it was a very beautiful part of the castle and he would find himself sitting out there listening to the birds from time to time. 

Suddenly seeing something dash into a bush; perked Varian's interest even more. Thinking to himself at what it could have been, but tensed up quickly at seeing whatever it was once more running into another bush. Varian's heart skipped a beat and felt tears beginning to form in his blue eyes, speaking with a soft tone "there's no way it can be you". Quickly floating through the wall and down onto the soft looking grass, varian looked around desperately for what he had seen.

Chittering..

He heard chittering in a bush ahead of him. Hesitantly making his way over to where the noise was emitting from, Varian stopped in front of a bush of flowers. A pair of green eyes stared back at him, and without a doubt it was who he was looking for.

"Ruddiger?"

The raccoon titled it's head in confusion before recognition sparked in it's eyes, jumping out from the bush the fluffy creature jumped up at varian only to fall back onto the ground. It wasn't a surprise that Ruddiger could see him, all animals could as varian had discovered a week after he had woken up. Ruddiger looked up at his boy in an alarmed and curious state as if asking what had just happened.

Varian's heart dropped and crouched down in front of the confused raccoon, tears ran down his cheeks as he held his hand out to his friend. Ruddiger looked at it before waving his paw through Varian's hand and flinched back when met with cold air. Varian smiled sadly before answering a question he knew Ruddiger had. "I'm..sorry rudy..I can't hold you anymore..I'm-" pausing and looking into his friends eyes before continuing "I'm not alive anymore Ruddiger".

Ruddiger flinched at these words and lowered himself to the ground before he let out a quiet chittering noise. It came to no surprise that Varian had understood what that chittering meant, Ruddiger understood what death was and was grieving for his loss. Staring down at the raccoon he had come to befriend, Varian showed a small smile before speaking up "hey it's okay I'm just happy you're here ruddiger..I've missed you a lot buddy". At these words Ruddiger looked up clearly a bit cheered up as he let out some lifted chittering directed toward his boy, Varian didn't know what he would do without Ruddiger in his life and he was more than happy to have him back.


	3. The Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Slight warning for the tiniest amount of gore, didn't know if I should put a warning but here it is anyways!)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

"Do you even remember me?" A faint voice echoed out before continuing to softly speak, as if the person was far away "did you ever really care?". It was familiar; but couldn't quite grasp the memory of who, it was a dark area with only few lights shining around the place but Rapunzel had to figure this out.

Taking a few steps forward into this shadowed place; she grew confused as the area around her lit up more, the place was almost broken; there were cobwebs and debris of old corona almost everywhere. Inspecting the place more she took note that there was parts she recognised instantly; the library and the Palace gardens, but why are they here?. Continuing to walk further into the place, Rapunzel soon found herself frozen to the spot; her eyes glued forward. Only ten feet away, stood a faded figure of a young boy who was constantly flickering between being visible to invisible; a person who was un-mistakably familiar.

The person turned their head to look at Rapunzel over their shoulder, there was no denying who it was and Rapunzel was scared to speak..it was Varian. The flickering body of varian approached slowly and stopped only three feet in front of Rapunzel, before speaking out in a heartbreakingly soft voice "why did you do this to me?". 

Tears blurred the blondes vision but before she could let out a word, Varian's form began to scream in pain; large puncture wounds formed and bled out. Moving forward in a staggering manner, Varian fell to his knees and clutched Rapunzel's dress in his bloodied hands. Rapunzel screamed out in shock and fear as she watched Varian begin to choke on his own blood and see the life drain from his eyes.

And then she sat up; panicked, sick, and upset. Rapunzel took in her surroundings and found a small amount of comfort recognising the room she occupied. After slowly calming down from the shock, Rapunzel buried her head in her hands and sobbed.

Eugene had taken immediate notice of Rapunzel's behavior throughout the day since she had left her room for breakfast. Cass and Eugene had tried to cheer her up by doing things she loved, they even tried to get along with each other just to make her happy, but when none of that worked they knew they had to sit her down and talk. 

"Guys, what's going on?" Rapunzel asked with a irritated expression as Cass forced her to sit down on a bench in the gardens, which unknowingly to Eugene and Cassandra made Rapunzel slightly uncomfortable. Eugene stood in front of Rapunzel and gazed at her with soft worried eyes, while Cass occupied the spot next to Rapunzel on the bench. Letting out a small sigh Eugene spoke up first "Rapunzel, ever since this morning you've been acting...different..and not in the bad way of course..well I mean-" Cass frowned and interrupted Eugene by placing a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder and bluntly asked "what's wrong Rapunzel?".

Rapunzel was tense, she knew they were going to bring it up again but not actually force her to sit down for it. Looking down at her folded hands, Rapunzel noticed her vision get blurred by unshed tears, before speaking in a quiet voice "I..had a bad dream.." she answered with a troubled expression. Cassandra raised an eyebrow and Eugene perked up in curiosity before kneeling in front of his love; staring into her eyes with a worried expression. "Blondie..what was it about?" Eugene questioned.Rapunzel flinched slightly at the memory of her dream but found enough courage to speak up "it...it was varian..." at the mention of the name, Cassandra and Eugene exchanged a knowing look and turned back to Rapunzel with a sad expression.

Cassandra pulled Rapunzel into a side hug to comfort her friend while Eugene held Rapunzel hand; rubbing small circles on the surface of her skin. Cass let out a small sigh and spoke softly "I know, you are still troubled by what happened raps..we all know..I...I think about him too from time to time, do you want..to talk about what happened in your dream?" Looking over to Cass at her words; Rapunzel's tears fell.

"It was so horrible..it..it was so dark at first and then it got brighter and..we were right here..but there was pieces of the rocks and broken houses of Old corona but..there was part of the castle library too, I don't know why..but he was-" Rapunzel paused and took in a shaky breath before continuing "he was just...standing there! His back was turned and his body was..faded and it kept flickering as if he wasn't actually there fully. He asked me wh..why I did this to him, at first I didn't know what he meant but then-" choking on a sob, Rapunzel looked down at her lap with a broken expression.

"I saw..him die...again...but,it was in front of me and I could see it..all of it..he was in so much pain..". Shuddering slightly, Rapunzel looked at her loved ones to see their horrified expressions as they recalled that night. But that quickly faded as the three of them heard the sound of a twig snapping from the bushes.

Cassandra quickly got up from her position and quietly made her way over the bush, after a moment of silence, Cass quickly reached in and pulled out a screeching and unmistakable Raccoon. "Ruddiger?!?" The three of them yelled in shock; they hadn't seen Ruddiger since the incident, they all assumed he had just ran off back into the woods. Rapunzel quickly ran over to Cass and soothed the frightened creature and had taken him from Cassandra's hold.

Eugene was intrigued by the appearance of the fluffy animal and spoke his and not only his thoughts of this surprise "why is Ruddiger here of all places?".The animal in question was relaxed by now but was scanning the area as if searching for something, but did not have any sign of wanting to be out of Rapunzel's careful hold, who was in a deep thought. 

After a while, Rapunzel had snapped her head up with a determined glint in her eyes and looked at Eugene and Cass "how would you guys feel about a small trip to Old Corona?".The two people being asked tensed and looked a bit worried, but Cass was the first to speak "raps..I wouldn't mind but..why?" She questioned. Rapunzel simply looked down at the creature in her arms with a caring expression, "well..I think it would be good for all of us, but more importantly we should visit Quirin..I don't know if anyone has seen him since he got freed....plus I think both Ruddiger and Quirin might find it nice to have family company, ya know?". 

Eugene smiled proudly at Rapunzel before walking over to his girlfriend and placing a tiny kiss on her nose; which caused a small joyful giggle from the person he adored, and spoke with confidence "I'll go wherever you go, blondie".Cass thought about the idea for a while before coming to a decision and smiled "of course I'll join you, it could actually help us all out". Rapunzel looked at the two people she had been through so much with before speaking,

"Then let's go visit Quirin".


	4. Test of courage (Halloween special)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For October I decided to make a fun Halloween chapter! I hope you all enjoy it cause I slaved over this all month hahaha, I'd also like to thank my friend for going over and correcting spelling errors and fixing up sentences a bit for me. ^^

Rapid footsteps echoed as they bounced off the hallway walls as two people ran in the moonlit area. Heavy, panicked breathing as they grew tired, a large clanking noise following them both. Eugene's grip on Rapunzel's hand tightened as he pulled her to the side, into a room to hide from...  
What were they running from you ask? It's best to start from the beginning..

~A  few hours earlier~

"I'm just saying that I could beat you in any challenge, Fitzherbert" 

Eugene stopped walking and swung around to face the challenger, who greeted him with a smug grin. Eugene crossed his arms over his chest but rose an eyebrow with a grin to rival Cassandra's.

"Oh is that so? Well then..what challenge do you have in mind?" He asked, feeling interested in what challenge Cassandra would come up with and gave her a doubtful look. 

"I was thinking...a test of courage" 

Eugene's face fell, exposing his regret but was quick to laugh it off before speaking in a teasing tone, waving his hand.

"I'm sorry, but did you say test of courage? Isn't that something children play?" 

Cass glared at the remark before smirking and crossing her arms.

"Oh, I didn't know you were scared of the dark and ghosts! Maybe we should settle for something more easy for you huh? Hm now let's see.."

Tensing about the challenge Eugene quickly cut her off before she could decide on something worse.

"H-hey you know what? A test of courage does sound interesting! Let's do that right here, in the castle so no one gets hurt!" 

Laughing awkwardly he looked at Cassandra who had a brow raised and an amused grin tugging at her lips, but something caught her gaze and she visibly paled a bit. This of course got Eugene's attention and puzzled by her reaction he asked a simple and plain question.

"What?" 

When Cassandra's gaze flickered back and forth between him and something else nervously, he turned around..  
only to see Rapunzel standing there with an excited smile stretched on her face with a certain shine in her eyes. 

"You guys are having a test of courage?? Oh that sounds so fun!" She was basically beaming at them with a hinted attitude in her wording.

Giving his girlfriend a sweet smile he glanced at Cass before turning back to Rapunzel with one question he knew she was dying to hear.

"Did you want to join us, sunshine?".

Cass did not like that, as much as she loved Rapunzel she didn't want to dare traumatize her pure hearted friend and was ready to counter against the idea, but before she could even open her mouth Rapunzel was already bursting with a new found confidence and energy. 

How could she say no now?

When the time for the challenge arrived, the moon was at its fullest and it shone brightly down onto the world from its place in the dark pool of the night sky which was filled with millions of shining lights. It was quiet and peaceful in the Kingdom of Corona, all except a certain hallway in the castle that centers it's island.

Cassandra stood up straight in posture in front of two of her friends as she explained what they must do for this challenge. After handing them their first clue; which they looked at in confusion. It was a fairly easy and simple clue just like the first challenge, but that doesn't mean the clues have to be, it is a challenge after all.

"So all Eugene and I have to do is retrieve five objects that you have hidden in this side of the castle? And to make it to the throne room when we are done?" 

Rapunzel with her puzzled expression, titled her head slightly as she questioned the challenge but quickly replaced her confusion with a chipper smile as she put her hands on her hips and looked at Eugene with a confident smirk. 

"And you said this was gonna be scary! It sound so easy!" She stated, to which Eugene playful rolled his eyes at with a smile of pure amusement on his face. 

Cass faltered a bit at this but let an amused sigh pass by her lips; putting her hand on Rapunzel's shoulder, she spoke with concern.

"It's meant to sound easy but there's going to be obstacles and they will be more difficult as this progresses. Look Raps, I don't want you to end up with nightmares for weeks on end like the last time you got scared by something I did, so if you ever feel like backing out during this..." she trailed off, glancing away from her friend.

Frowning slightly, which was quickly replaced with a bright smile, Rapunzel beamed at her friend. 

"Don't worry Cass, I got Eugene here and like you said if I feel like backing out, well then I got you to be there right?" 

Cassandra looked at Rapunzel and smiled, crossing her arms once more as her confidence came back with a response 

"You know it, Rapunzel".

When the challenge began, it took a while to find the first object that Cassandra had hidden, but with the luck of Eugene falling over they both had gained a new perspective of the area and placed the object in the satchel that Eugene had brought along with him for the challenge. After finding the first object, Rapunzel and Eugene made their way to where the second clue had lead them - which so happened to be the castle's library.

Eugene took a glance at the gigantic room filled with many novels, stories and poetry before letting out groan of annoyance. Running a hand through his hair, he looked at his sunshine as she wore an expression of absolute glee. 'Well at least Rapunzel is having fun with this' he thought to himself as he smiled at her excited form.

Rapunzel spoke up and looked at Eugene with her eager green eyes "This object HAS to be one of the books right?? Or maybe it's an object like this?"

Rapunzel held up the first object they had found which was a small necklace made out of string with the main part of it being a shell. Eugene pondered in thought before looking at the clue again, it said nothing but a clue to where to find it. It took a little while to figure out it was the library that Cass had hinted at, but as luck would have it there's only one place with many words. 

As Eugene and Rapunzel split up and searched the library shelves and desks, a pair of bright blue eyes followed them. Varian was beyond confused at seeing Rapunzel and Eugene at the library let alone in the middle of the night - most of the castle was asleep aside from the guards on duty. 'What on earth are these two doing?' Was the thought that came to mind as he observed their behavior and noticed them looking for something. Varian tried to recall them coming in here earlier that day, figuring they must have left something behind, but could not remember seeing them till now, he was in the library the whole day after all.

Seeing something fall out of Eugene's pocket, Varian floated over towards the item and picked it up, reading to himself out loud.

"Many words are shown, but never voiced, a journey through time and mi-" stopping himself from reading the rest of the note. Varian squinted at it, before looking at the tall male with a blank expression. 

"you guys are having a scavenger hunt?"

Now Varian had seen everything. The trio was weird enough, but playing a child's game was not something he had expected from them. At least it all made sense when Cassandra came into this room. Looking over at Rapunzel with an unreadable expression he dropped the note and made his way over to her, and hovered by her side. 

The tone in his voice was what one would call candid as he spoke to no one but himself. "It would make sense that you would want to play this game though, I mean what else would a person secluded from society for 18 years not do?"

His attention was quickly brought upon something else, making a grin and a mischievous spark show in his eyes. Making his way quickly over to the area and reaching out a gloved hand, grasping it within his hold and glancing over it with a raised brow. This was honestly too easy for Varian, he already knew what they were looking for and making it difficult for them would be a minor amusement to his day. But that would be a small amount, so why not do something more?

Varian placed the object down in front of the library window, and waited above it; watching as his targets made their way to the area. When Eugene spoke up and called out to Rapunzel that he had found the object, Varian bit his lip as he tried to refrain from laughing. 

Eugene was surprised to stumble upon an object that most definitely did not belong in a library, but making it easier than the first was a bit odd of Cassandra to do. Despite all this Eugene called over to his girlfriend and walked over to pick up the object which was a small bird hair clip. Just as Eugene grasped the clip in his hand, his world went suddenly dark and a heavy weight fell upon his body. Letting out shout of surprise at the sudden change of his surroundings, Eugene ran in a spur of the moment panic...only to run into something.

Varian had never before laughed so much at an unexpected reaction. He thought Eugene would just jump slightly, not run off in fright like a mouse, but when Varian saw him run into something it was even more amusing especially since..

The painful groan of someone else is what snapped Eugene out of his momentary panic, and stiffened when he heard Rapunzel speak. 

"Eugene...why do you have a curtain on you?.." she spoke in a soft, confused and yet pained tone.

Laughing awkwardly when he realized it was Rapunzel he ran into and that it was just a curtain on him, Eugene felt ashamed and guilty, but in the spur of the moment of wanting to lighten the mood, he spoke in a comical tone.

"Well you know me, blondie - I always find a way to make new trends right? Curtains are in this season."

When there was no response, Eugene moved the large curtain so he could peek out to Rapunzel, who gave him an amused smile. Making her way over to Eugene, she removed the rest of the curtain and pecked his lips with a small giggle.

"Only you, Eugene."

Varian didn't know whether to feel irritated or childishly grossed out by the display of affection as he should have expected this from them by now. Looking back at the many books in the library, Varian decided following Eugene and Rapunzel was a better option for entertainment. When the duo left the room they were clueless about the young boy who trailed a few feet behind them andthey were also just as clueless about what lied ahead.

To say that as this challenge continued it was easy to get to the objects was a lie, Rapunzel's hair did come in handy when it came to objects high up and Eugene's quick thinking had its perks when they were hidden, but the traps and clues Cassandra left made things incredibly difficult for the two, not to mention the strange occurrences of things falling over or the sounds of something being dragged across the walls and floor.

By the time they were going to find the last object, Rapunzel and Eugene were exhausted, they had been running around the castle all night and the only thing on their minds was the thought of their comfortable beds. But a certain Alchemist wasn't done with them yet. Looking ahead at the destination where the duo were heading, Varian felt giddy about an idea he was forming in his brain. So far he had been bored of just doing minor scares as they searched for objects in the castle, and the challenges themselves were quite boring. He expected more from Cassandra.

Eyeing the smooth surface of metal that glinted in the moonlight, Varian quickly made his way ahead of the princess and her partner to inspect his target closer. Humming as he glanced it over and checked to see if it were to be suitable for what he was about to do. With a pleased grin plastering itself on his freckled face, Varian placed his hand on the solid surface and closed his eyes in a concentrated manner. Possessing inanimate objects was fairly easy depending on the size of the object - things like plates, books and clothes were easy - but things larger than his size was something he had trouble with. 

Why was Varian possessing things in the first place you might ask? For his own experiments. With this new form and perspective on life, things were very different from when he was alive, so of course the first thing the young alchemist tried to do as his new ghostly self was possess small objects...as for what he's possessing now?..

Thud.

It was Rapunzel who stopped walking first. 

Had she just heard something just now?

Looking back from where the suspected sound came from was only an empty hallway. Rapunzel's eyebrows lowered into a confused frown. She could have sworn she had heard something. Shrugging it off, Rapunzel turned back around and took Eugene's hand in her own for comfort to settle the uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. 

Another thud is what stopped both of them this time. But it was louder and very much sounded closer. Eugene was the first to turn his head to meet what was behind them and felt the blood drain from his face.

Behind them was the metal suit of armor they had passed by a few moments ago. Eugene jumped back and pulled Rapunzel behind him, a glare forming on his face. 'Who on earth would want to stand about in that suit waiting for us to arrive here?' Is the thought that crossed his mind as he eyed the armor with a curious glint in his eyes.

Rapunzel's laughter is what broke the silence.   
Carefully maneuvering her way around Eugene, the young princess found herself standing infront of the metal with an expression of amusement on her face.

"Woah, you really got us there! I didn't even see you move, how did you move so quietly in that?" Rapunzel's smile widened as she spoke to whoever was in the suit but it was quickly replaced with a frown.

The person didn't respond. 

That brought back the uneasy feeling Rapunzel had felt earlier and crossed her arms over her chest in a makeshift hug. Pushing aside the feeling, Rapunzel opened her mouth and let a single letter come out before stopping. She felt dread come over her body as she stared up at the armor with pure horror in her green eyes.

The armored person had raised their sword.

Eugene was fast to act and gripped his girlfriend's hand and pulled her out of the way just in time as the sword came crashing down close to where she had once stood. Eugene was angry and frightened but he pushed forward and ran with Rapunzel beside him. Who ever this person was obviously was not good news. They had to warn someone of this intruder - and fast.

Running down the castle hall, they could both hear the clanking of metal behind them.   
They had to hide, but where?  
Eugene risked a glance over his shoulder and let out a sigh of relief when he couldn't see the metal armor and pulled Rapunzel to the side into a room. She was stumbling over her words, trying to find the right sentence as she spoke.

"They tried to..they almost could have killed.." she was shaken up about the events that just took place and tears were forming in her eyes.

Eugene walked closer to Rapunzel, wrapping his arms around her in a hug and placing his chin on top of her head as he swayed slightly and hummed a small tune. Rapunzel clinged to Eugene as she took in deep breaths to calm herself. Only hearing Eugene's soft voice made her look up.

"Rapunzel, I will never let anything bad happen to you. I know you can handle yourself most of the time but I'm always going to be there to help you in times you can't. I love you." His smile made Rapunzel's heart flutter.

"I love you too, Eugene." She smiled back at him with an adoring look before turning towards the closed door with a frown.

Eugene looked at the direction she was facing and felt confidence wash over him and made Rapunzel face him by placing his hand on her cheek. With a serious expression on his face, Eugene spoke with a determined tone.

"Stick close to me when we leave this room, we have to get the the throne room where Cassandra is and tell her about this. As irritating and cold she is, I know she can help."

Nodding in agreement, Rapunzel took Eugene's hand in hers once more as he walked over and slowly opened the door, giving his girlfriend a small reassuring smile he lead the way out quietly down the hall.

Meanwhile, Varian watched the two sneak their way down the hall from his place above. It was simply really to make sure the Armor wouldn't give his location away. All he had to do was disassemble it into parts and float close to the ceiling so he wouldn't be spotted. Of course this didn't mean he couldn't mess with their heads every once and a while. Was this a bit extreme? A little, but was he trying to kill the princess? No. When Varian had swung down that sword he had made sure he would hit next to where Rapunzel had stood, of course her knight in shining armor over looked that fact and ran off with his princess. It was just a little fun to spice up the night of this challenge.

Following Eugene and Rapunzel carefully but quickly, he soon saw the perfect opportunity to show the armor once more as they stopped to catch their breath. He descended to the ground quickly to put the suit back together as quietly as possible. Varian placed the armor's metal gloved hand on Rapunzel and Eugene's shoulder and took a great amount of joy seeing the terror set in on the duo's faces. 

And so the chase began.

Eugene and Rapunzel had never run this much in this castle, frantically trying to get the armor off their tails, but it seemed to be getting closer by the minute. How had they not come across any guards yet? Oh right Cassandra told them she would handle it.   
Growing tired of running, Rapunzel stumbled slightly in her step but quickly regained her balance and continued forward. Where are they going? How do they lose this person? And the need for help was all that was running through Rapunzel's mind at that moment. 

That is until something caught Eugene's eye.

Eyes widening at what has caught his attention he quickly dashed as fast as he could over to a curtain and yanked it down just in time for it to fall on top of the Armor. Taking this opportunity, Eugene quickly pulled Rapunzel into a room to hide  but didn't close the door all the way and watched as the suit unraveled itself from the curtain and continued running down the hall. Taking this moment of peace, Eugene leaned against the wall and tried catching his breath as did Rapunzel.

This person was persistent on chasing them down, but Rapunzel had enough of running.

Standing up straight with an sharp glare, the young princess made her way over to the door and peeked out before shutting the door completely. Facing Eugene, she spoke in a clear and straight forward tone of voice.

"Eugene, we have to stop who ever this is before someone gets hurt. Now I have an idea but I need you to help me, are you in?" 

Eugene perked up at the idea of stopping this maniac in a suit and fixed his posture by crossing his arms over his chest in a bold manner and spoke with confidence.

"Of course I am, blondie! Besides I told you I'd always be there to help you didn't I?" He looked down at Rapunzel with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes in a playful manner at Eugene she began to tell him her idea.

Varian was lost-no not lost but he was confused. How on earth had he lost the princess and the ex-thief at the same time? One moment he could see, the next everything was dark. He actually had to suppress a laugh at what had covered him - the sweet irony of a curtain being thrown on him by Eugene. 

Wandering down the hall as he searched, the alchemist began to grow annoyed at where the pair had run off to. Going back down the hall from which he last saw them, Varian inspected the area and let out a huff of frustration. He was about to turn back and search another area but quickly paused his movements. Something wasn't right..there was something missing. 

It took Varian a moment to realise what was happening, but was too late when he was suddenly wrapped in the large piece of curtain and thrown to the floor. The sudden amount of pressure and unexpected events threw Varian off guard and he lost concentration, forcing him to release his hold on the suit of armour. 

Staring down at the ambush in shock, he processed what had just happened.   
Had the princess just caught him off guard?  
And he didn't notice her trap?  
Blinking rapidly and shaking his head in disbelief, he watched as Rapunzel and Eugene walk over to the helmet before taking it off. Now this was better..

Rapunzel dropped the metal helmet to the floor which made a large clanking noise as it echoed down the hall, stepping back from the empty suit she hugged herself for comfort. Her soft voice wavering as she shook in fear.

"Th-there was n-no one inside the armour?" Rapunzel felt her mouth go dry as the words left her mouth and looked at Eugene who mirrored the same look of terror she had.

It took the both of them a while to calm down from the adrenaline running through them before they decided to go to the throne room and tell Cassandra about what had happened. But when they got there-

\- there was no sight of Cassandra.

Glancing around the throne room with worry, Eugene wrapped his arm protectively around Raps. Something didn't feel right, it felt like they were being watched   
Turning around to exit the grand room thinking maybe the lady in waiting had gone to bed, they were met with the same metal face that had been chasing them down an hour before they made it here. 

Jumping back with startled screams of surprise and fear, Rapunzel and Eugene clung to each other as they stared wide eyed at the figure. Muffled laughter filled the quiet area as the person took the helmet off, revealing dark curls and Cassandra's amused expression as she bowed over laughing. Speaking in between laughter, Cass looked at her friends.

"Oh man, you should have seen your faces you two were so scared!" Cass wiped away a tear that had formed from her laughter

Eugene stepped daringly towards Cassandra and crossed his arms and denied her statement.

"No no I was NOT scared by something as minor as that, Cassandra" Eugene refused to let her win and bring this up over and over if she did earn victory for this scare.

Rolling her eyes, Cassandra stood up and smiled before questioning the two.

"So did you find all the objects?"

Eugene and Rapunzel froze, before laughing shamefully. Rapunzel was the one to answer Cassandra's question.

"Actually...Cass, it was a bit difficult with all the traps. Epecially the suit of armour you got to somehow chase us with so no we didn't find-" Rapunzel was quickly cut off by Cassandra 

"Woah woah! What do you mean suit of armour? And what do you mean chased you?" 

Joining in on the conversation, Eugene replied in a puzzled tone.

"The suit of armour, you were just wearing the helmet...it- that wasn't your doing?"

Cassandra looked down at the helmet she was holding in her gloved hands before raising an eyebrow at the duo.

"I just found it lying outside the throne room door before coming in here"

A large thunk made all three of them turn towards the source of the noise and saw the suit wrapped up in the curtain from before lying on the floor a few few away from them. A large scraping noise followed soon after and the trio backed up into each other in case they needed to defend themselves from behind.

Varian laughed at their defensive mannerism before causing more havoc upon the group of friends.

This was going to be a long night for them.

(Happy Halloween everyone!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this story, I know it was a bit longer than the main stories chapters are, but hey you made it through! I hope everyone had a fantastic October and Halloween! ✨❤️✨


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